Bouteille, Tasse, Journal, 1912 - 1913

CommentaryTypical for analytical Cubism, whose attributes this drawing shows, is a composition in which abstract objects are woven together with recognizable individual forms of everyday elements to form a whole: The objects mentioned in the title are examined in an analysis of form for the characteristics of their shape; typical characteristics are then included in the composition, for example the silhouette of a cup or individual forms of pot-bellied bottles with cap. The newspaper also mentioned in the title appears, on the other hand, as a real object in the work, even if only in the form of a small cut out of the front page of the daily ‘Le Journal’ glued onto the paper. This so-called ›papier collé‹ technique was developed by Georges Braque in the late summer of 1912; his friend Picasso took it up and produced a whole series of such works in the following months. In the case of this drawing, Picasso uses the introduction of real objects to play with levels of reality; with the real newspaper – seemingly – hidden by the drawn cup.

Typical for analytical Cubism, whose attributes this drawing shows, is a composition in which abstract objects are woven together with recognizable individual forms of everyday elements to form a whole: The objects mentioned in the title are examined in an analysis of form for the characteristics of their shape; typical characteristics are then included in the composition, for example the silhouette of a cup or individual forms of pot-bellied bottles with cap. The newspaper also mentioned in the title appears, on the other hand, as a real object in the work, even if only in the form of a small cut out of the front page of the daily ‘Le Journal’ glued onto the paper. This so-called ›papier collé‹ technique was developed by Georges Braque in the late summer of 1912; his friend Picasso took it up and produced a whole series of such works in the following months. In the case of this drawing, Picasso uses the introduction of real objects to play with levels of reality; with the real newspaper – seemingly – hidden by the drawn cup.